Two mixtapes, two weeks.
The 50 Cent presently before the music industry closely resembles another rising rapper of the same name that had yet to get rich while trying before dying. From an industry point of view, there are those that doubt whether 50 Cent the multimillion-dollar man can reclaim the momentum he once had. Little do they know deep within the recesses of money and power lies that same antagonistic, bar none individual that claimed the streets and those boardrooms. 50 Cent has released War Angel for the hardcore Hip-Hop fans and Forever King, a mixtape that channels the 90’s. Love it or hate it, 50 is back and, unlike the title of his debut, just being rich just isn’t enough.
This is just the first part.
AllHipHop.com: First, can you speak on the War Angel LP and what it represents?
50 Cent: To me, the War Angel LP represents what I fell in love with in Hip-Hop. It isn’t there any more, it doesn’t exist anymore. A lot of the actual artists, I felt like…my assessment of the artist was the artists was trying to reach the audience by being like the audience instead of being themselves and bringing the audience to them. Of course selling records and making a living for themselves is a priority from the perspective of an artist that comes from a “starving artists’ space.” They watch what works and as soon as they see what works, they all do the same thing instead of sticking to their [own] style and waiting for that moment for their music to impact. And, that’s when you really feel that impact, because you stand your ground and write from a perspective, you know, that’s in your heart. The War Angel record, it was the complete CD for my core. The person that hears track one, loves all 12 of those tracks. There’s no question about it. The response I’ve been getting from it makes me feel like I made the right decision with that record.
AllHipHop.com: You sound hungry.
50 Cent: And this one, I just did [Before I Self Destruct] all over again and [now] this is Forever King, [his newest mixtape].
AllHipHop.com: Is there a new mentality that you have now? In particular with War Angel, you sound hungrier than normal.
50 Cent: Its more like the original 50 Cent music and it feels like just went I get a chance to relax and “do me,” that comes out. That comes out easy. That’s my first nature. That’s the actual, the character, what I have to be to get by in the environment I grew up in. to make that is not as difficult for me reaching… The records they were complaining about were the commercial records. Those [records] are work for me – to make the right ones. Obviously, over the last six years, I’ve been able to manage making the right records that work at radio and everywhere else commercially while you have that content that your core wants.
AllHipHop.com: How difficult is it to balance that though? Obviously, when you do a commercial record that is a smash it does take away from your base. Your base becomes unhappy.
50 Cent: Look what you just said. When you make a smash, it takes away from your base.
AllHipHop.com: The commercial songs…
50 Cent: What I’m saying to you is, the guy [rapper] that has no aggression in his music, because he doesn’t come from the environment and they have not expectations of him, can just make that pop record that you think is a smash and [sells] however many millions, radio plays, listeners hearing it and move copies based on that. Meanwhile, they want the aggressive content from me, because there is nobody else that can offer it from a space that they actually believe these people.
AllHipHop.com: I want to pick up on something you said on War Angel. You said, “I think these n***as is f***ots.” You were just talking, but you went into the skinny
jeans…
"Why would they go ahead and do a deal a head of time when they would be a part of the package and negotiation for me." - 50 Cent
50 Cent: What I seen growing up, in all honesty, I think a lot of the Hip-Hop artists were emulating the drug dealer. There was a time, in me growing up, that the drug dealers had more money than artists. So, when the rope chains came those were the things that I seen guys who hustled had long before rappers had it. So I understood their motivation and [where] the Kangol and the Adidas and everything else came from.
But, when you see the guys when the skinny jeans, that was the stuff that was in the Village [New York’s Greenwich Village], in a specific area. So don’t tell me an artist – a [single] artist – influenced the whole community of that many people? Then it disappoints me that so many of our people are followers in that way.
AllHipHop.com: So you are saying its reversed now.
50 Cent: The artists that’s wearing these skinny jeans, these tight shirts and Mohawks, if they decide to design the clothing or develop a clothing company....[pauses] What is it considered? Urban?
AllHipHop.com: Yeah…
50 Cent: Its not urban. It might be an American owner, but it’s not urban. Everything that they got on is something that you were see from a rock artist. The White-oriented younger teens had that on for a long time. For me, skinny jeans was for you not to catch your pants on a skateboard. If you not riding skateboards, why you wearing it.
AllHipHop.com Lets talk about G-Unit a bit. Can you speak on the status of G-Unit a little bit?
50 Cent: Everybody’s intact, as far as Yay [Yayo] and Banks, they are both recording new records. When their music is 100% dead right, you’ll probably be hearing another G-Unit album following the release of this actual project from me. And then, their solo albums.
AllHipHop.com: Are they looking for new recording homes?
50 Cent: Well, not in a hurry…to do that. [Pauses] Because its almost time for me to re-negotiate.
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, I know…this is your last one [with Interscope].
50 Cent: Hey. Why would they go ahead and do a deal a head of time when they would be a part of the package and negotiation for me.
AllHipHop.com: Alright, OK.
50 Cent: If they were rippin’ and runnin’, they would have gotten deals already. Yayo did 800,000 on his last project and sold over 3 million records on the project before his last one.
AllHipHop.com: Banks made a comment about growing up or spreading his wings or something like that…
50 Cent: And all those things are valid. Like, he’s not a little boy. Banks is the baby. He doesn’t look that, because his facial hair came in faster, but he’s the youngest one. So, I spend time talking to him. I do mental maintenance on him, because he’s younger, to make sure he don’t just spin out of control. It’s a lot. They all earned over $8.5 million dollars apiece and that was including Young Buck. If you don’t tell them what to do on some level then they are going to make assumption and do things.
AllHipHop.com: So he’s not unhappy in anyway, because he was supposed to be the next big thing.
50 Cent: I think from Banks’ perspective, he has the ability to say what he feels and it not be taken personal at all. I treat them all like they were my brother. It was a little more intense disrespect from Buck when that happened, because he was treated that way [as a brother]. [This was] to the point where he made mistakes and I fixed his mistakes. Who pays your taxes for you? If you don’t figure it out after the first time you don’t pay your taxes, but twice? It’s interesting. This is the guy that does something wrong, apologizes and does something wrong. This why ic an say, “Oh, you did it to me and you’re going to go do it again.” So, next time I’m going to press record.
AllHipHop.com: Do you feel any kind of way about Buck at this point? A Lot of people feel he was one of the most talented people in the group.
50 Cent: They just feel he wasn’t my homeboy. They feel like he didn’t grow up with 50. Both Banks and Yayo grew up one block away. He was from a neighborhood where nobody could confirm what he was saying. He was from Tennessee.
AllHipHop.com: So, what are you saying?
50 Cent: The things he was saying, he could say anything to you. Who’s from Tennessee? Tela? In Hip-Hop, the only person you could point to would be Tela.
AllHipHop.com: Well, you have a lot of people from Memphis.
50 Cent: What I’m saying is when they start wondering, don’t they ride with you anyway? Be honest. If got an artist where he says some things and it takes of, but its not 100% his character. He’s ain’t out there and active doing those things that he’s talking about, but its working. Do you roll with it?
AllHipHop.com: Yeah, why not…all artists…
50 Cent: The reality is, he is a business, that artist at that point. And everybody will roll with it. They are looking to get away from the actual hood. So the guys that are in the hood are like, “[pounds chest] We hood.” You don’t want to be [hood]. You want to be something else. You want to get out of there.
AllHipHop.com: So you are saying that Buck was doing things that was detrimental to the business.
50 Cent: Absolutely, I don’t think it just destroyed Young Buck or just damaged Young Buck, it would have damaged or destroyed the whole thing.
AllHipHop.com: He didn’t get “props” when he stabbed somebody for Dre? That wasn’t “cool”?
50 Cent: He didn’t stab somebody [for Dre].
AllHipHop.com: He got credit for stabbing somebody.
50 Cent: You can have credit. Have credit, get jail time. Whoever gets credit…
AllHipHop.com: He caught a charge thought, right?
50 Cent: He was charged with it, but why you think it went away?
AllHipHop.com: So you don’t feel bad about nothing…seeing ya man cry…
50 Cent: If I didn’t bring him up, you wouldn’t have. He’s really not relevant. You asked about the other guys that’s right next to me.
Part 2: SOON.
